News Details

Sophomore Oscar Pereiro Wins NCAA 100-yard Backstroke National Title

Chuck Sadowski

Monday, March 19, 2012

The University of Bridgeport men's swimming team took home another national title and several more All-American recognitions as the Purple Knights continued their strong showing through three days of the 2012 NCAA Division II National Championship being hosted by Henderson State University in Mansfield, Texas at the Mansfield ISD Natatorium.

Sophomore, team captain Oscar Pereiro (Arzua, Spain) got the night off on the right foot when he won the NCAA Division II Men's 100-yard Backstroke in a time of 46.99 which equaled his NCAA Division II record time turned in on Thursday night in the lead-off leg of UB’s 400-yard Medley Relay team. With Pereiro winning the 2012 100-yard Backstroke title, the Bridgeport men's program has now had at least one individual NCAA Champion in each of the first three years of the program's existence.

In the men's 100-yard Breaststroke, Ruben Gimenez (So., Burgos, Spain) earned All-American honors as he finished in sixth place in the championship final with a time of 54.73.

For the second straight evening, junior Ilkka Hanhineva (Pietarsaari, Finland) earned individual All-American honors as he took sixth place in the 200-yard Butterfly finishing in a time of 1:47.67 which is a school record.

The Purple Knights wrapped up their stellar Friday evening with an eleventh place finish in the 800-yard Freestyle Relay as freshman Vladislav Paskas (Zrenjanin, Serbia), junior Krzysztof Wilk (Warsaw, Poland), freshman Matheus Lima (Santos, Brazil) and Hanhineva turned in a UB record time of 6:44.33 completed during the morning swims of this timed event.